In partnership with the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University and their State of the State Survey (SOSS) series, the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) has released new data focused on our college-going culture.

Three questions were asked of 954 individuals across all regions of the state who were surveyed by phone between April 2017 and July 2017. MCAN has asked these specific three questions in four of the SOSS polls administered over the last six years.

• For a young person in Michigan to be successful in the labor market and in their career, how important is it to have a college education?

• How likely is it that your child will get a college education?

• At today's levels of tuition and financial aid, a college education is reasonably affordable for people in Michigan. [The question rated agreement with this statement.]

The data shows 56.6 percent of Michiganders believe college is very important, a 14.5 percent decline from 2015 results at which time 71.1 percent called college very important (of 966 respondents). For 2017, 33.8 percent of respondents said they believe college is somewhat important compared to 24.7% two years prior.

Perspectives on the question of whether Michigan adults believe their child will get a college education and college affordability have changed less dramatically.

• 74.6 percent of survey takers said it was very likely their child would get a college education and 17.5 percent said it was somewhat likely, compared to 79 percent and 14.1 percent in 2015, respectively.

• 39.6 percent strongly disagreed, and 33 percent somewhat disagreed, with the statement that a college education is reasonably affordable for people in Michigan at today’s levels of tuition and financial aid. Two years prior, those numbers were respectively 39.7 percent and 30 percent.

*Statewide data has been weighted to provide a representative sampling, both geographically and demographically, of the state of Michigan.

In late 2008, CMF and a group of community foundations partnered with the state of Michigan, the National College Access Network and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy to analyze college-access services in Michigan. As a result of that research and the collective efforts of the Governor’s Office of the Foundation Liaison (OFL) among several other organizations and agencies, MCAN was officially launched to dramatically increase college participation and completion rates particularly among Michigan’s low-income students, first-generation students and students of color.

Over the course of the next nine years, The Kresge Foundation provided a series of grants to CMF that were sub-granted to 27 community foundations to initiate, expand, strengthen and sustain their local education partnerships, which led to the creation of Local College Access Networks (LCANs) in their communities.

LCANs are community-based college access alliances supported by a team of community and education leaders representing K-12, higher education, the nonprofit sector, government, business and philanthropy. LCANs organize community leaders around the goal of increasing the community’s postsecondary educational attainment level to 60 percent by the year 2025.

American Community Survey data from 2016 shows that in Michigan, 43.7 percent of the state’s 5.2 million working-age adults ages 25-64 hold a high-quality certificate or degree. While that puts Michigan below the national average of 46.9 percent, it is an increase from American Community Survey data collected in 2013, at which time 38.4 percent held at least a two-year degree.

Many CMF members are providing support when it comes to post-secondary education and through a variety of ways.

Six years ago, the Fremont Area Community Foundation launched the Goal 2025 Education Initiative, a targeted effort through grantmaking to increase post-secondary attainment.

“We have seen a positive cultural shift toward college and career attainment,” Amy Moore, director of community investment for the community foundation, told CMF. “The Newaygo County Area Promise Zone is in year two and is reporting growth in retention rates and we have seen an increase in our adult scholarship applications.”

Recently the foundation turned its efforts toward the youngest students in the county by launching the Kickstart to Career child savings account program, a ten-year pilot program. This fall, every child in Newaygo County will be given an account and will participate in financial literacy and career planning during the school day.

“The program is designed to build aspirations, encourage savings, increase financial education and assist with career preparation, training and college expenses,” Moore said. “Similar savings accounts across the nation have shown students in these programs show an increase in college enrollment and degree attainment. It is just one more strategy to improve the quality of life for our residents.”

Another example of education supports in action comes from the Bay Area Community Foundation, which has three major areas of their work that specifically aim to further education for current students K-12 and in college, as well as those needing a skilled trade or certificate and individuals earning their GED.

• The Great Lakes Bay College and Career Resource Center assists students of all ages and backgrounds through supports such as college application assistance, financial aid resources, scholarships and career planning.

• The foundation’s scholarship program, which started with one $300 award in 1985, has grown to 501 scholarships valued at $500 million dollars this year. An annual reception allows donors of the scholarships to meet their recipients.

• The Bay Commitment Scholarship is a unique program in that only first-generation college students are eligible to apply. The May 2018 scholarship award ceremony celebrated ten years of program success, during which time 1,000 students have been given scholarships totaling $2 million.

Renee Aumock, senior program officer for the Bay Area Community Foundation, oversees each of these efforts. “There is so much more to success than just the scholarship money. We encourage all students to get a higher education and give them the resources to do just that. Continuing education benefits the person, the vibrancy of the area’s business economy and the quality of life for all area citizens.”

Aumock notes that over 65 percent of Delta College graduates and over 45 percent of Saginaw Valley State University graduates remain in the Great Lakes Bay Region. “Our community’s next generation of leaders are the students attending college today. It is essential that support is provided for these future leaders to equip them with the skills to take our community forward.”

Want more?

Download the full survey report with statewide and regional data.

Learn more about the Fremont Area Community Foundation’s efforts.

Learn more about the Bay Area Community Foundation's efforts.

Connect with MCAN.